ICE must be reformed or abolished
By Gov. Janet Mills, D-Maine
On the morning of July 13, a Federal Enforcement Removal Operations Officer with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, fatally shot Johan Sebastián Guerrero in Biddeford. Mr. Guerrero was a husband and a father. He was reportedly authorized to work in the United States, and he possessed a Social Security number. And according to public reports, he was apparently not the person targeted by the immigration enforcement operation.
Well, like people all across Maine, I’m heartbroken and I’m furious. Not simply by the violent death of a young father in a quiet town, but by the callous show of force by federal agents across the country in recent months.
We all have questions about what happened in Biddeford, and I have full confidence that Attorney General Aaron Frey and his office are conducting a thorough and impartial investigation into the facts surrounding Mr. Guerrero’s death.
Instead of making us safer, in many cases, federal agents are creating situations that put neighborhoods in danger. Earlier this year, Congress had a chance to rein in ICE by passing reasonable oversight measures. But instead of doing that, doing what was right and necessary, it failed to act.
Before more families are robbed of a loved one, this violence has to end.
Before one community is robbed of its peace and security, this has to end.
Before more gunshots shatter another windshield, steal another person’s life, and fracture the freedom of all who want peace, this has to end.
And before the fragile American Dream, memorialized on hopeful parchment two and a half centuries ago, is altogether abandoned, this has to end.
And so, this week, I called on Congress not simply to share our grief, or express concern, or offer prayers and condolences, but act now to require ICE to respect the rule of law and honor our collective security across the country. In my letter to Maine’s congressional delegation, I reiterated my call for specific reforms:
Federal agents should be prohibited from wearing masks and be required to identify themselves by voice and appearance and be required to wear body cameras;
Training for federal agents must be reformed and strengthened;
Federal agents who abuse their power must face civil and criminal liability when appropriate; and
Immigration enforcement actions should require a valid judicial warrant, among other necessary measures.
ICE needs to be fundamentally reformed, and if not, then it is time to abolish it.
As we confront this difficult moment, I know that this is a frightening time for many people, especially members of Maine’s immigrant community. I want to say directly to every person who has chosen to make Maine their home, whether you came here from Maryland or Macedonia, from Colombia or Canada, you have chosen to make your home in a state whose history has been shaped by people who came here seeking opportunity, building communities, and making Maine stronger.
In the centuries since the Wabanaki first made Maine their home, Irish dock workers from Galway worked the wharves of Portland’s waterfront; French-Canadian farmers from New Brunswick toiled in the fields of the St. John Valley; workers from Canada, Ireland, Albania, Greece, and Syria found opportunity in the textile mills of Biddeford and Saco; Jewish families from Russia and Poland opened up shops in Bangor.
They all found opportunity in Maine, and through their work and their many contributions, their families, their descendants, their communities, they made our state a better place to live, work, and raise a family.
Their story is Maine’s story, and it is still being written today by every person who chooses to build a life here. We are stronger because of the people who have come here from countries all over the world, people of goodwill, seeking work, seeking opportunity, seeking freedom. Let us not forget them.